Devil Dog Disease
by PaperHat
Summary: Tony and Tim are at it again with the practical jokes. This time it's Jardine in the firing line.
1. Seriously Freaky

**Disclaimer - I do not own NCIS**

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"What is it with her? I mean she is seriously freaky!"

Tim nodded in agreement, "That, Tony, is an understatement, have you seen her with those antibacterial wipes? She has got to have some sort of 'condition' or something."

"You mean like cleanophobia, germotrophia or dustism?"

Both Tony and Tim contorted their faces in disgust as they watched Jardine delicately wipe over her telephone handset for the third time that day, having been away from her desk for only half an hour.

A smile grew on Tony's face and his eyes glinted with that usual sparkle that Timothy McGee recognised all too well.

"Tony, no, whatever it is you're planning stop right now!"

Tony's face fell in mock shock, "What?" he said innocently.

"You've got that look Tony, the one that says 'I'm going to do something and I'm gonna get Probie to help me' and usually ends up with both of us getting into trouble with Gibbs."

"Ah, stop getting your tighty whities in a twist McGee…."

He bit his bottom lip, still smiling and furrowed his brow as worked through the plan in his head,

"…besides, Gibbs will only find out if she squeals, and she won't do that in case he breathes on her, too many Marine germs."

"Tony, come on, please, no stunt you've ever pulled where I've been involved in has ever ended without Gibbs finding out and …. and…uhm…ended up with unpleasant repercussions," Tim gulped nervously.

Tony glared at him with his best Gibb's-stare, "since when did you become Probie-Pet huh? McYes-boy?"

"I'm just saying that, you know what he's like and I really, really, can't face another gym session with him or…worse…if you know what I mean….depending how pissed off he is."

The attempt at the Gibb's-stare morphed into a major sulk, leaving Tony looking like a five year old being told they couldn't stay up late.

"So you're not going to help me exorcise the Dirt Devil?"

"NO! I'm...uh...taking Gibb's advice...for once...and uh...not rising to the bait." Tim spluttered bravely.

There was an awkward and tense period of silence.

"What if I order you to help me, as your Senior Field Agent?"

"That is so not fair Tony!" Tim gasped at the very thought.

Grabbing his arm, Tony lifted him from his chair and pushed him towards the bathroom.

"We need to talk McGee, as your Senior Field Agent, I am ordering you to help me rid NCIS of a serious freak of nature and for once I am not referring to Jimmy Palmer!"

Whining pitifully, Tim was dragged forcibly, along the corridor and, when they reached the bathroom, he took up position leaning against the wall. He folded his arms defiantly as Tony began to pace up and down whispering to himself,

"Okay...serious clean-a-phobic…..germs….dirt….dust….bacteria"

He stopped all of a sudden, a beaming smile immediately on his face, and he snapped his fingers.

"I've got it! We're gonna tell her that she needs to have red-light therapy to get rid of contaminants she's got!"

"Red light? Contaminants? What the hell are you talking about?" Tim screwed up his face, bemused.

Tony snorted as he stood frowning with his hands in his pockets. He began to whisper his thoughts aloud,

"And...she will get the contaminant from...come on Anthony! Think, think, think...aha...got it!"

He giggled to himself as he pondered the image in his mind and then grinned devilishly at McGee,

"Red light bulbs in the shower block…..Agent Jardine….naked…getting decontaminated…..photo opportunity of a lifetime Probie!"

Tim's jaw dropped in horror, "Tony, you can not do that…th..that's insane! If Gibbs finds out...w..we...we..."

"Okay Probie enough of the wheezing and whining already, here's what I need you to do. Get hold of some red light bulbs and swap them for the ones in the shower block, meanwhile, I'll make sure that Jardine gets the message that she is infected to the extreme and make sure that she heads to the shower block asap and when she does, I'll be right behind her with the camera."

As they left the bathroom, Tony delivered a sharp whack to Tim's head with the warning that he had better not let him down. Under the guise of going for coffee McGee reluctantly went ahead and checked out the light fittings in the shower block and then made a dash for the nearest hardware store with mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness.

Heading back to NCIS with a bag of red light bulbs in one hand and a large coffee in the other, there was only one sentence which Tim McGee could not get out of his head and which played over and over like a mantra of doom.

"Why do you get yourself into this mess? If Gibbs finds out...oh crap, I'm going to throw up!"

_To be continued..._

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Disclaimer - I do not own NCIS


	2. Nikki Get's DiNozzo'd

**Disclaimer - I do not own NCIS**

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"You doing okay there Jardine?" Tony smiled sweetly as he leaned over the cubicle divider.

"I'm fine Special Agent DiNozzo," Nikki replied narrowing her eyes, not surprisingly wary of the concern being shown by the Senior Field Agent.

"You look a little run down there...noticed your eyes kinda starting to droop a little and you don't seem your usual...uh...bubbly self."

Nikki swallowed hard, "My eyes are droopy?"

"Yeah, but hey it's okay, really, I had it too when I first started working here," Tony said flippantly.

"Had what?" she gasped as she threw him a worried look.

"Oh, it's nothing, just what we seasoned field agents call Devil Dog Disease." he replied his voice trailing to a whisper.

Nikki's eyes widened in horror and she flapped her mouth unable to get the words out.

"D..d…devil dog disease?"

Tony placed a hand on her shoulder and she flinched,

"Sorry..." he said as he whipped his hand away and wiped it down the front of his shirt.

"…yeah, it comes from being around people, that have either interrogated, or came into regular contact with serving Marines. It's to do with the level of ammunitions work that they do. You see, the chemicals kinda get onto the skin and somehow start to attack the nerve endings...it's not fatal though, all it does it make you feeling lethargic, run down...that is, if it is left untreated. Newbie Marines are vaccinated against it in Boot Camp, but we don't, you know how it is sometimes, rules, regulations, that kinda stuff."

Tony leaned in close and began to whisper,

"But, uh...listen up, don't mention it, okay, because it's a kind of unwritten rule around here, you know like Gibbs' rules….this is one of the unspoken and unwritten ones…we never, ever mention…"

Looking over his shoulder for a moment, he silently mouthed, "Devil dog disease...unless it's to Probie's...like yourself."

Nikki was visibly shaking now as she whimpered, "Is..uhm…there a cure other than the vaccine?"

Tony gave a wide comforting grin, "Jardine, do not worry your little head, of course there is, it's NCIS for crying out loud, do you think they would let this continue if they didn't have a sure fire cure?"

He continue smiling gently at her, his eyes providing her all the reassurance she needed.

"A little light therapy, which emits a red heat, kills all of the bacteria. A ten minute session is all you need about once every six months and you're fine. I promise you, works out cheaper and less painful than getting a shot."

Nikki relaxed and her eyes returned to normal focus, "Okay, well that is a relief, so...Agent DiNozzo, how do I get this 'light therapy', who do I need to speak to?"

"Listen why don't I set up a session for you in the shower block, at say 1000 hours tomorrow. I'll get Ducky to switch on the bacterial light filters and you're good to go. Ten minutes standing in the shower booth, just like you're taking a shower will get rid of all the nasty DD bugs."

With a grateful, if nervous smile, Nikki returned to her work and Tony returned to his desk unable to keep the grin from his face.

_To be continued..._

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	3. Therapy Time

**Disclaimer - I do not own NCIS**

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"Probie!"

Tony crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it across to Tim's desk hitting him squarely on the side of the face.

"Hey!" Tim snapped as he picked up the paper and threw it into his trashcan.

"You all set?" Tony whispered as he pointed to his wristwatch noting that it was almost 1000 hours.

Tim nodded and Tony grinned in return before he hit the 'send' button on his email to Jardine.

He waited for a few moments, before smiling ever so sweetly at her as she quietly rose from her desk, with a small overnight bag, and made her way to the shower block. She was no sooner in the elevator, when he grunted a snigger and winked at Tim to follow his lead, making sure to grab the camera from his backpack as they both headed towards the elevator.

"Uh…Tony…where is Gibbs?" McGee asked nervously.

Tony placed his hands on McGee's shoulders, "He's in the Director's office, Tim, I watched him go in there about ten minutes ago. Now I need you to trust me on this, he will not find out about this. Relax, okay?"

Tim eventually nodded his head.

"Okay, good Probie. Now, did you put the bulbs in this morning, like I asked?"

"Bulbs are in place and I took the 'out of order' sign down at 0945 hours as you ordered me too."

Tony smiled as he put his arm around Tim and looked up as if viewing something in the distance.

"We are a great team McGee, one day they will look at us in the same way as they did with Mike Franks and Gibbs and say, those two were damned fine good agents….the best"

Tim grinned, "That means I get to be like Gibbs, because he was Mike's Probie and you get to be Mike, sad, lonely, a chain smoker who lives in seclusion in Mexico……OW!"

"It was just an analogy Probie!" Tony sneered.

Tim rubbed the back of his head and they waited silently for the elevator to reach the shower block.

The silence continued as they approached the door of the shower block and opened the door carefully. Tony readied the camera and blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the blood red light enveloping the shower block making everything dark and different.

Tim crouched down behind the first cubicle and slowly slid the small mirror around the side. Confirming that it was clear, he lifted his head to Tony and shook it from side to side. Tony nodded an acknowledgement and slowly and carefully sneaked into the cubicle ready to check out the next one. Tim repeated the process and quickly snapped the mirror away as he instantly registered that the cubicle was occupied. Once more he lifted his head towards Tony, slowly stood up and gave him the thumbs up. Stepping back a little to let Tony stand in front, Tim's eyes widened as Tony gave the fingered count down.

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

Tony jumped in front of the cubicle and started taking clicking the camera button furiously resulting in a constant streak of white flashes which tore through the dull red atmosphere of the shower block.

Nikki Jardine shrieked and screamed like she had never done in her entire life. As her senses bucked against the constant flashing in her eyes she continued to scream as she grabbed her towel and gripped it in front of her for dear life.

The piercing sound echoing in the shower block was enough to make Tony stop taking pictures.

"Okay Jardine calm down, calm down!" he barked through the high pitched squeals.

Tim had covered his ears with his hands, instantly regretting his part in the stunt as he witnessed the trauma of the naked Nikki.

Finally Nikki stopped squealing and was almost melting into the back of the cubicle. Her breathing was rapid and she could not help the tears of shock escape from her eyes.

"Oh God, Nikki, we're sorry, we are really sorry" McGee said quickly as he noticed the first tears fall.

Nikki Jardine took in a deep breath and quickly wiped her face with the corner of her towel and searched deep for her inner strength to calm down even further and not end up a total blubbering mess.

At that moment, the shower block door was banged open and three sets of eyes widened at the sight in front of them.

"Was that you screaming Jardine? What is going on here?"

Nikki Jardine burst into a flood of tears once more and ran from the shower cubicle to the adjacent changing room.

Tony DiNozzo and Tim McGee stood for a moment speechless, before Tony laughed nervously and sneaked the camera behind his back.

"Uh…Ziva….we…uh….need to chat!"

_To be continued..._


	4. Striking Deals

**Disclaimer - I do not own NCIS**

_A/N I am extremely grateful for all who have reviewed so far._

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Ziva stood with her hands on her hips her eyes wide with anger, "What did you do to her?" she snapped.

"It was just a joke Ziva, she'll get over it," Tony frowned.

"You call _that_ a joke? That poor woman is hysterical!"

"I know, but it was his idea" Tim protested, pointing at Tony and instantly regretting his response, realising how much he sounded like a whiney kid.

"Whatever McGee, but no-one deserves to be treated like that!"

Tony gave a small grin and looked sheepishly at Ziva, "Look, if we apologise to the Dirt Devil, you won't take this any further will you?"

"What do you mean?" Ziva growled.

Tony gulped and started rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "Well…uh…you're not going to mention this to Gibbs are you?"

At that moment, Nikki Jardine emerged from the changing room fully clothed. The three of them could see that her eyes were still puffy from crying. She took in a deep breath, held her head high, smoothed down her blouse and walked towards them and headed straight for the door.

"Nikki, we're sorry…it was a mis…" Tim said as she brushed past him.

Tony winced as he watched Nikki disappear, "So….Ziva….uh...Gibbs….you ok with keeping this between us?"

Ziva narrowed her eyes and grinned wickedly. It was not often that she had the Senior Field Agent squirming and in such a vulnerable position.

"So, Tony, why do you think I should cover this whole thing up for you? It is not as if I do not owe you some amount of payback for all of the trouble you've gotten me into in the past with Gibbs!"

She tapped the bottom of her chin gently, "You know when I think of the number of times I've been mauled on the carpet by Gibbs, for going along with your silly little pranks..."

Tony and Tim sniggered.

"The expression is 'hauled on the carpet' Ziva" Tim corrected her,

Ziva growled. "Whatever it is, I do not care. I think I deserve to get some sort of deal out of this. Am I correct?"

Tony rolled his eyes to the ceiling and exhaled deeply. Driving this bargain was going to be a lot harder than he thought. He knew that Ziva would certainly turn them both in, in a flash, if he didn't call upon all of his powers of persuasion, to get her on side.

"Come on Ziva, Gibbs will totally freak if he finds out about this. Okay, I admit it looks bad, but it was just a little team-bonding kinda joke. We wouldn't have done it had known that the Freak of Nature would react like a stuck pig!"

"Her name is Agent Nikki Jardine, Tony, and she did not deserve to be tricked like that. If you had done that to me, you would be standing dead right now!"

Tim chuckled once more, his nerves calming after Nikki's outburst.

Ziva advanced towards him, clenching her fists at her side and seriously invading his space.

"What is so funny McGee, apart from you getting involved with this….idiot again?"

He paled instantly at the angry and dangerous looking Ziva glaring back at him,

"If…uh…you had killed us, we wouldn't be ….uh … standing …dead…as you said…when you..uh..."

Ziva simply growled and Tim snapped his mouth closed and took a step backwards. Tony put his hand up, separating them both.

"Hey! Back off Ziva, don't touch the Probie…down girl….back off!"

Ziva responded by whacking Tony hard across the stomach and he wheezed loudly,

"Haaaaa…so….come on Ziva...are you…..uh…going to keep it zipped or not?" he spluttered.

She raised her hand to his face and he flinched. As she placed her palm gently on his cheek he relaxed and heard her sigh heavily.

"This time, I will keep quiet, only because Gibbs will seriously endanger your health if he were to find out. And if you both are injured, I will have to do all of your work. That...is something I am not prepared to do!"

She lowered the tone of her voice.

"But…you both owe me…..and I will be cashing that favour in…..when you least expect it!"

Tony whimpered when Ziva lightly patted his cheek and then spun on her heel and left the room.

As the door closed behind her Tim immediately let loose a huge sigh of relief and instantly his shoulders sagged at the release of his nerves.

"Wow, that was close. I think for once we just might have gotten through this unscathed Tony. Looks like Gibbs is going to be kept completely in the dark on this one!"

Glad that Ziva had left, a wide smile grew on Anthony DiNozzo's face. He looked at Tim with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes,

"You see McPanic, I told you to trust me didn't I? Now, why don't we go take a look at these pictures huh?"

The two agents exited the dimly red lit shower block and headed back towards the bullpen. They were both smiling with satisfaction of a stunt pulled off without being caught when the elevator doors swished open and they found their exit blocked. As they looked up, they gulped at the stern, angry face glaring back at them.

"You two, stay exactly the hell where you are!"

The intimidating figure joined them in the elevator and thumped the button with a loud bang. Tony swallowed hard and frowned with nervous concern,

"Is there a problem……Director?"

_To be continued..._


	5. Who's Top Dog?

**Disclaimer - I do not own NCIS**

_A/N I hope you like this chapter, only one more to go after this folks, your reviews have spurred me on with this one._

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Jennifer Shepherd glared at the two agents in turn as the elevator started moving up. The doors soon swished open and she stood to the side and pointed in the direction of her office.

"MOVE!" she barked angrily.

Tony and Tim jumped at the sound of her voice and quickly exited and walked smartly towards the door, immediately their eyes were transfixed on Ziva who was standing waiting for them, her arms folded. She sighed as she saw them head towards her.

They joined her standing by the door and scowled and pulled threatening faces before they let Jen enter first. They slowly followed her inside and just as Tony entered the door it was slammed shut and Jethro Gibbs emerged from behind it.

Ziva David gasped.

Anthony DiNozzo's stomach heaved.

Timothy McGee felt a lump in his throat.

He glared angrily and simply pointed his finger towards the desk and then stood tall behind them as they took up their positions, front and centre.

Director Jennifer Shepherd flung herself into her seat and took a deep breath before she leaned across the desk,

"You three had better start giving me some answers before to the question why I shouldn't kick all of you out of this Agency right now!"

Ziva furrowed her brow curiously, startled by the Directors wrath. Words failed to come from McGee's mouth and he began flapping it rather like a goldfish. Tony coughed nervously and his mouth dried up. In the end he could only respond in a squeak.

"Director?" Tony said innocently.

Jen's nostrils flared with anger,

"Do _not_, Special Agent DiNozzo, insult my intelligence by pretending not to know _exactly_ why you are here. Just to make it absolutely crystal clear, I want to know why there are red light bulbs in the decontamination showers, why I had Nikkie Jardine turn up at my door, totally traumatised and in tears after you three witnessed her naked and what in the world is 'Devil Dog Disease'?"

Tony shuddered as he heard the sharp intake of breath from Gibbs at Jen's last words. He then flinched as the camera he had been holding behind his back was taken out of his hands.

"And what…." Gibbs added quietly, "…you needed this for?"

Tim closed his eyes momentarily, his stomach almost at the back of his throat, heaving with nerves. Try as he might, he simply could not get his voice to work.

There was an awkward silence, till Ziva decided to protest her innocence.

"Just to make it clear, I had nothing to do with this!" she growled and folded her arms defensively.

Jen huffed sarcastically, "You may have not participated in, or been the brains behind this little stunt, Officer David, but your failure to report a violation of this Agency's code of conduct, in matters of sexual harassment, lays a burden of responsibility clearly at your feet. A responsibility _you_ deliberately chose to ignore, despite witnessing one of your co-workers clearly being a victim of such harassment!"

Ziva's eyes went wide at the accusation, "This is _not_ my fault!" she shrieked.

"Zip it Ziva! You two start talking!" Jen snapped, turning her eyes to Tony.

"It was just a…thing…that uh…backfired….Director," Tony said quietly as he lowered his eyes sheepishly to the floor.

Tim's voice suddenly found itself and sprung into action.

"Director, he ordered me to change the light bulbs, we thought we would play a little practical joke on Nikki, we would never have done it if we knew that she was…."

Tony stuck his hands in his pockets and frowned at McGee interrupting him, "I didn't order you as in...'order'…you McGee!"

"Yes, you did Tony, you clearly said, as your Senior Field Agent, you wanted to get rid of the serious fre…"

Tony clamped his hand over Tim's mouth, "They get the message Probie!"

Tim wrestled with Tony's arms to remove his hand from his mouth.

"But you _did_ Tony!" he whined, his eyes wide in disbelief at Tony's reaction.

"You took it _totally_ out of context!"

"No, no, no. Tim is right Tony, you called Nikki the 'Freak of Nature' that was your exact words in the shower block!"

Tony gasped open-mouthed, "Did not!" he snapped.

"Did too!" both Tim and Ziva barked in unison.

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

The head slaps were forceful enough to jolt them forward and stun them into complete silence.

Jennifer Shepherd took a moment to cover her face with her hands and then she looked up at them with increasing anger,

"You are Federal Agents and this is a Federal Building not the God-damned set of Porkys!"

Tony opened his mouth, and he pointed his finger at Jen, his brain instinctively recalling the release date and Director of the movie, and his mouth about to engage with a useless piece of trivia,

"Don't you dare DiNozzo!" Gibbs said quietly, his tone as cold as ice.

Tony instantly snapped his mouth shut as Jen continued to lecture,

"Your behaviour was wholly unacceptable _and_ in direct violation of this Agency's code of conduct on sexual harassment. This, gentlemen, is what I would consider an extreme case of red light behavior!"

Their response was completely involuntary. Had it not been, it would have been pretty much considered a leap into the lions den, but as it was, it was a totally uncontrollable reaction.

Tim McGee and Tony DiNozzo started to giggle.

Rolling her eyes, Jen slammed her hands hard on the desk as she barked,

"If you are _quite_ finished!"

Gibbs delivered another hard head-slap to them both and they quickly quietened their chuckles, their hands reaching up to rub their aching heads.

Jen shifted her head to set her sights on Gibbs,

"Special Agent Gibbs, I am well aware of how you feel about keeping to the chain of command, _especially_ where matters of discipline are concerned, however, on _this_ occasion, I am overriding that chain of command and I will be taking complete responsibility for dealing with these three!"

Gibbs stepped forward and by the look on his face, she knew, and expected that her decision did not meet with his approval.

"No way Jen," he growled.

"This is _not_ up for debate Jethro! I'll be handling this, end of story!"

He took in a deep breath and stood staring straight ahead, before he quietly said,

"You three, wait outside."

Tony, Tim and Ziva quickly complied and he watched as the door closed, before he turned back to Jen.

"I know how to handle this Jen, and I _will_ be handling this," he said sternly.

Jen folded her arms, determined to stand her ground on this occasion. She narrowed her eyes and took a few moments to return the steely stare from Gibbs. At that moment, she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Oh, trust me Jethro, I know _exactly_ how you would handle this. Don't think I haven't forgotten how you deal with people on your team who, like McGee and DiNozzo, decide to play practical jokes on their team leader."

She raised an eyebrow whilst Gibbs remained motionless, maintaining his solid focus on her eyes as she continued,

"_And_ what method you would normally use when an agent decides to cover up one of the team's mistakes and keeps you in the dark, just exactly like Ziva's done here."

She took in a deep breath, strengthening her resolve, "However, Nikki Jardine came to me and not you. If you think a little taste of your Marine discipline is going to make up for the humiliation that girl went through, then you are sadly mistaken!"

"Dammit Jen, so they got a little out of control, I can fix that! Get it over and done with quickly and get them back to work and doing what they should be doing!"

"It seems to me, Special Agent, that they are only out of control and behaving like this because the acceptable standards of conduct in this Agency haven't been fully explained to them by their team leader!"

Gibbs threw his hands up in the air, "What? Are you saying this is _my_ fault now?"

Jen's stomach flipped but it made her even more determined not to let her former boss get the better of her, not this time.

"You _are_ their team leader aren't you?"

"Oh for crying out loud," he grumbled as he rolled his eyes to the ceiling and then watched her rise from her desk, head for the door and grip the door handle.

"I'm through discussing this with you Gibbs and I am calling them back in. As Director I am taking personal responsibility for ensuring that the behaviour of the team, their team leader included, falls back in line with this Agency's standards"

Jen swung the door open sharply.

"You three, get back in here and let's get this settled!"

_To be continued..._


	6. The Cure for Devil Dog Disease

**Disclaimer - I do not own NCIS**

_A/N Feedback has been awesome. I'm so grateful and pleased that you have enjoyed this story._

_PLEASE READ MY NOTE WHEN YOU REACH THE END...but for now...on with the story..._

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Tony, Tim and Ziva re-entered Jen's office and took up their original positions. After hearing the earlier raised voices, they were decidedly more humble, not wanting to piss either Gibbs or the Director off any further.

Jen perched herself on the edge of her desk, she folded her arms and glared at them with steely eyes which seemed to pierce right through them.

The moments passed painfully slowly as she continued to simply stare at them in silence. It wasn't until they were visibly squirming that she began to lecture once more, this time her angry tone replaced with cold authority.

"Disappointed, does not even begin to describe how I feel about all of you right now."

She let the words sink in, continuing to use the torturous periods of silence to make them squirm even further.

"What is evident from your behaviour, in whatever capacity each of you had in this fiasco, is that certain rules and standards about how we treat one another in this Agency have yet to sink in to your minds."

She took in a deep breath, knowing, that what she was about to say, would be the last thing that all four of them wanted to hear.

"And for that reason, on this occasion, I think that you need some refresher training in this Agency's standards and protocols in Sexual Harassment. I will be contacting Human Resources and asking Mr Murray to provide you with appropriately designed training workshops. I think a two hour session every day for a week should eventually get the message across to each and everyone of you that this behaviour is entirely unacceptable, don't you think?"

Jaws instantly dropped. Gasps were heard. The air was thick with disbelief.

"Aw, come on Director, not that guy Baxter Murray, he's a nightmare!" Tony wailed desperately.

Jen pouted, "Nightmare Tony huh, that's funny, I'm pretty sure that those are exactly the words Nikki Jardine used to describe what you put her through!"

Tony swallowed hard and his shoulders sagged in defeat.

Jen desperately fought to keep the smirk from her face.

"Your training sessions will commence Monday morning at 0800 hours sharp. I expect all four of you to be there, or rest assured, there will be official consequences, do I make myself clear?"

There was no response given as puzzled looks appeared on their faces. Jen knew exactly what they were thinking and decided to clear up the confusion.

"Yes, I did say, _all_ four of you! Special Agent Gibbs will also be attending in his capacity as your Team Leader in order that he can fully reinforce the lessons you learn when you return to your desks and ensure that incidents like this never, ever, happen again."

All eyes were directed at Gibbs and he stood open mouthed in disbelief of Jen's decision.

"There is _no_ way me or my team are going through another one of those damned training workshops with that……weasel!"

"Baxter Murray is proficient training professional Jethro! You and your team _will_ be at the training centre on Monday morning or you will all be desk bound for a month. Now, does anyone have anything else to say?"

Tony, Tim and Ziva shook their heads quickly, still pretty dazed at what was in store for them.

"Very well then, get back to work, I think there has been enough time wasted today don't you think?"

The three of them scurried out of the door and Gibbs followed them, but closed the door behind them, remaining inside. He turned back towards Jen.

"This is damned unfair Jen," he said firmly.

Director Jennifer Shepherd stood all and pursed her lips,

"Jethro, I am not going to argue anymore on this, now why don't you get back to your team and make sure they are doing what they are being paid to do."

"Jen, it's not train..."

Jen raised her hand to silence Gibbs as she barked, "That is _all_ Special Agent Gibbs!"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes and stared hard in silent protest. He knew that there was no way he was going to get out of this. Jens' course of action had been by the book and correct and he couldn't fault her for it. It wasn't entirely how he would have handled it, but then again, Jen always did have a stubborn independent streak in her. He sighed heavily in defeat and made for the door.

"Glad to see you did learn something from me after all Jen…."

She tilted her head to the side, not entirely sure what he meant.

As he pulled the door open, he looked straight ahead out into the waiting area and to rest of the team, deliberately not giving her eye contact,

"…and there isn't even a 'B' in your name!"

He slammed the door hard behind him. The three agents were standing waiting for him to confirm that he had sorted things out and that somehow they were off the hook.

Their misguided hopes were dashed.

"What the hell are you standing around for, get back to work!" he growled.

"Are we….uh…doing this training thing boss….huh?"

Gibbs scowled at Tony, "Yes we are DiNozzo! Thanks to you and these two, we're gonna have to endure ten hours in the training centre with Murray!"

Tony gulped, "Sorry boss," he said quietly.

Glaring at each of them in turn he ordered them to find Nikki and apologise, before getting back to work.

They soon found Nikki at the photocopier and she scowled at the three of them as they stood for a moment, their heads slightly bowed in shame. Tony spoke with genuine remorse,

"Uh Nikki, about what happened, we're really sorry, what we did was wrong...well... we really are truly sorry."

Tim nodded his head, "I'm so sorry Nikki," he said hoarsely.

Ziva bit her bottom lip nervously, "I too apologise for not helping you as I should have done. It was not appropriate at all, to have left you like that."

Nikki took in a deep breath and she glared at them as she eventually replied, "I accept your apologies. But all three of you stay out of my way!"

She walked away smartly deciding not to give either of them any more of her time or attention.

Dejectedly they returned to their desks, the prospect of their training burden already weighing heavily on their minds. Through the silence Gibbs voice cut through them like steel.

"Now that you have apologised to Jardine, I do not want to hear the phrase Devil Dog Disease mentioned ever again."

He paused for a moment before he broke the tense silence once more,

"You three make this charade next week any more difficult than it is already going to be and I swear you'll learn that this old Devil Dog's bite is way far worse than my bark!"

The only response was the combined whimper of three little Devil pups.

THE END...or is it?

* * *

_**Coming very soon..."Sexual Harrasment Refresher Training"**_

_Before you read this sequel, check out my 'Performance Appraisals a Workshop for Teams' story, if you are not familiar with my character called 'Baxter Murray'._


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